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Paula Deen to make Savannah appearance

A flyer for the Paula Deen appearance at Jamie Deen's book launch party.

Embattled celebrity chef Paula Deen will make her first public appearance in Savannah after a federal judge last week dismissed a lawsuit accusing her of being responsible for harassment and racism in the workplace.

Paula Deen is scheduled to appear at her The Lady & Sons restaurant, 102 W. Congress St., to help her son Jamie Deen launch his latest cookbook, “Jamie Deen’s Good Food.”

The event is 1-4 p.m. Sept. 19 at the restaurant. Copies of the book, needed for admission to the launch party, can be purchased at the neighboring Paula Deen Retail Store.

Paula Deen also is scheduled to be on the Sept. 15 episode of Jamie Deen’s show on the Food Network. That episode, airing at 10 a.m., of “Home for Dinner with Jamie Deen” is described as: To celebrate the 25 years since “The Bag Lady” first began, Jamie is getting the old gang back together to reinvent some Bag Lady favorites.

Aside from intermittent sightings around Savannah, Paula Deen has made no formal public appearances since the release of her deposition in the now-dismissed lawsuit in which she admitted to using the “N-word” several years ago.

Reaction to that led to her losing deals with many of her corporate partners, including the Food Network, Wal-Mart, Ballantine Books, Smithfield Foods, Target, Home Depot, Kmart, Sears and others.

Lisa Jackson, a white female, sued Paula Deen and her business enterprises, alleging she had been the victim of sexual harassment and a persistent pattern of racial discrimination in the workplace during her five-year employment at Uncle Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House Inc. on Whitemarsh Island.

The site is partly owned and operated by Earl W. “Bubba” Hiers Jr. who is Deen’s brother and was a co-defendant in the case.

U.S. District Judge William T. Moore Jr. dismissed with prejudice the federal lawsuit but retained jurisdiction to determine other matters that are unrelated to the merits of claims in the suit.